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Journalism of Courage
A sessions court here on Friday remanded three persons, arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for allegedly possessing crude bombs and weapons, in the agency’s custody till August 18. Additional sessions Judge Sameer Adkar remanded the three accused — Vaibhav Raut, Sharad Kalaskar and Sudhanwa Gondhalekar — in ATS custody till August 18. The accused were reportedly arrested late yesterday night in an ATS operation conducted in Bhandar Aali area of Nallasopara West in neighbouring Palghar district.
The accused were booked under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code. The ATS had sought their custody for 15 days on the ground that it needed to ascertain why the bombs were made, where the accused persons got training to assemble the bombs, if they were associated with any terrorist group and from where they procured the material to assemble the bombs.
The ATS in its remand application said it had received secret information on August 7 that some persons planning to carry out terrorist activities in Pune and Mumbai. “Based on this information, searches were carried out at the shops and residences of the accused persons. From the searches, 22 crude bombs were seized along with a chit on how to assemble the bombs,” ATS lawyer Sunil Gonsalves told the court.
In court, the three accused told the judge that they had been assaulted by ATS officers. The court said their medical reports have not revealed any external injuries. “The accused persons shall be taken for medical examination once again and a report shall be submitted on August 13,” the court directed.
Sanjeev Punalekar, the lawyer of the accused persons, told the court that the case was “bogus” and claimed that the three had been framed. “They should be remanded to judicial custody,” Punalekar said.
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